Tim Tebow’s quest to become a Major League baseball player has not run it’s course quite yet. The New York Mets intend to have Tebow in their Minor League camp come spring training.
Mets General Manager, Sandy Alderson discussed Tebow’s next steps during the Winter Meetings on Tuesday. Although Tebow will not be assigned to the Major League camp, the team expects to pull him over for some Grapefruit League games in order for him to gain some exposure to big league pitching.
“We understand he’s a little bit older so the process needs to accelerate at some point,” Alderson said. “But we still need to be prudent about it, and put him in situations where he can succeed, and not be viewed as a — I was going to say ‘circus animal,’ but that’s probably not appropriate.” (MLB.com)
Tebow, 29, ended his Arizona Fall League stint with a .194/.296/.242 batting line and two RBI. It was expected that he would be overmatched, having not played baseball since his junior year in high school. Mets hitting coach, Kevin Long, had high praise for the former NFL Quarterback in an Indianapolis radio interview on Wednesday.
“He’s put together like no other athlete I’ve ever seen,” Long said. “He’s got a lot of work to do, he understands that. He knows it’s not going to be easy, but having seen his swing now and worked with him a little bit, I’m not so sure that he can’t break through maybe give himself a chance to get (to the majors).”
We have heard much of Tebow’s “raw power,” and it has intrigued Mets manager, Terry Collins, as well. Collins is not worried of any distractions that Tebow may bring with him due to his star power.
“We’re in New York,” Collins said. “We can handle anybody with a name on his back in our camp. If they decide to send him to camp, we’ll get him better.”
The Mets seemingly will be giving Tebow a legitimate shot to show what he can do this upcoming spring. All sideshows aside, Tebow was said to be a great influence in the clubhouse in the AFL, with an admirable work ethic that others could learn from.
